Pattern displacement and adjustment device for stitching machines



Jan. 20, 1970 T. HESZ PATTERN DISPLACEMENT AND ADJUSTMENT DEVICE FORSTITCHING MACHINES Filed D80. 29, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.5

Theodor Hesz In'ven for.

Attorney T. HESZ Jan. 20, 1970 PATTERN DISPLACEMENTAND ADJUSTMENT DEVICEFOR STITCHING MACHINES Filed Dec. 29, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Theodor Hesz lnvem'or.

T. HESZ Jan. 2o, 191o PATTERN DISPLACEMENT AND ADJUSTMENT DEVICE FORSTITCHING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 29, 1966 Fig.9c

Fig.9b

Fig-9a Thgzodor Hes: mvemmr.

B34 Gi United States Patent 015cc 3,490,399 Patented Jan. 20, 19703,490,399 PATTERN DISPLACEMENT AND ADJUSTMENT DEVICE FOR STITCHINGMACHINES Theodor Hesz, Vienna, Austria, assignor to Arthur Schmid,Romanshorn, Switzerland, .a corporation of Switzerland Filed Dec. 29,1966, Ser. No. 605,933 Claims priority, application France, Jan. 10,1966,

Int. Cl. Dosh 11/00, 21/00 US. Cl. 112118 5 Claims ABSTRACT OFDISCLOSURE A pattern-displacement and adjustment device for an automaticpattern-stitch sewing machine having a rotatable disk determining thebasic pattern by the displacement of a guide body for the fabric whichdisplaces same relatively to the needle, the device being interposedbetween the cam-follower plate and the fabric-guide arrangement andincluding a lever swingable about a fulcrum and articulatedly connectedto the cam-follower plate and the fabric-guide arrangement; a threadedspindle or hydraulic-displacement mechanism serves to adjust theeffective length of the lever by varying the distance between at leasttwo of these points to adjust the stroke of the fabric-guide structure.

The invention refers to a pattern-displacement and adjustment device foran automatic pattern-stitch sewing or quilting machine.

Using such machines, quilted materials in the form of multilayer webs ofcloth are stitched together in accordance with definite patterns forminga decoration for various branches of industry. The pattern is formed bythe back-and-forth movement of the web of cloth beneath the needles.This operation is carried out by a cam or pattern disk turned by meansof a step-switch mechanism through a small angle after every stitch, anda material guide moved back and forth by the disk in accordance with itsshape. On this guide are mounted one or more material rollers, a guideplate for uniform material feed and at least two traction rollers whichpull the material forward in rhythm with the stitches, i.e., in thecadence of operation of the latter, by the distance of one stitch at atime while the material presser foot is temporarily raised. Displacementor adjustment facilities for such machines already known include:

(A) Systems enabling insertion of a new pattern disk to achieve a newbasic pattern or the insertion of a new and similar cam disk with onlyslightly smaller or larger reach to vary the pattern;

(B) Systems involving insertion or removal of needles (which may bearranged in a single row or a number of rows one behind the other);

(C) Systems enabling alteration of the intermediate gear stage whichdetermines the number of stitches per revolution of the pattern disk;and

(D) Systems enabling alteration of the intermediate gear stage whichdetermines the feed-advance length of the traction rollers.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a devicewhich permits the size of the back-and-forth movement of the materialguide for a given basic pattern to be adjusted (varied) or displacedcontinuously within certain limits.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the characterdescribed which permits a considerable saving in the number of basicpattern disks required and eliminates the need for disks which displayonly minor variations of reach for the same pattern.

The device in accordance with the invention is characterized by the factthat a lever capable of being pivoted about a fixed point is so mountedthat it is joined by means of elements transmitting tension and pressureto the mat'erial guide and the push board; the junction points, andthereby the effective length of the lever arm, can be adjusted infinitelin relation to the fixed point by means of a threaded spindle duringoperation.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more readily apparent from the followingdescription, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a part of an automatic stitching machineembodying the invention;

FIGS. 2-5 are diagrams showing various stitching patterns;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a portion of another stitching machineaccording to this invention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a portion of a third stitching machineembodying the invention;

FIG. 8 is a similar view of a displacement device, according to theinvention, mounted in a housing broken open; and FIlgICS. 9a-9c showdiagrams of the device as shown in FIG. 1 shows only those driveportions of a patternstitch sewing machine material to the explanationof the invention. Reference numeral 1 identifies a cam plate whichdetermines the basic pattern. After each stitch by the needles, afterthe latter have been withdrawn from the material and the materialpresser foot has released the material, the cam plate 1 is rotatedthrough the angle mcrement oz. Cam follower rollers 3 rest against thecircumference of the cam plate 1 and are attached to a push board 2 todisplace the latter within its guides 4. A lever S may be pivoted abouta fixed axis 6 and is articulatedly oined with the cam-follower pushboard 2 via a link or plate 7. The material-guide structure or frame 10,which is guided by means of the rollers 11, carries at its front a-material roller 13 joumalled on brackets 12 (one shown) and at its reara pair of traction rollers 14 which are coupled to one another by meansof the toothed wheels 15. The remainder of the drive to these rollers isomitted for the sake of simplicity.

At the side of the guide frame 10, a setting device 16 with a settingscrew or threaded spindle 17, handwheel 18 andsliding piece or carriage19 is fitted. By means of an articulated peg or pin 20 and a pusherbracket 21, the material-guide frame 10 is connected articulatedly wlththe pivotinglever S for displacement therewith. If the sliding piece 19,which forms part of a second link means, is displaced forwardly (or inthe drawing, downwardly) by turning the handwheel 18, the effectivelength of the lever arm is increased and the material guide carnes out alarger travel than the pusher board 2. If the effective lever-arm lengthis reduced, the material guide then makes a smaller travel than thepusher board 2.

FIG. 2 shows one possibility of effecting adjustment by means of the newdevice. .Here a checked pattern is stitched by means of two offset rowsof needles N N At the top, the pattern is faulty since the peaks orcusps of the zigzag pattern do not touch; in the middle the pattern iscorrect and at the bottom it-is faulty because the peaks intersect. Thisis approximately the range within which the device is effective as acorrector. The length of the lever arm can thus be so set that the peaksjust touch. A facility of adjustment of this nature is highly desirable,as the machine reacts very sensitively to small variations in thematerial.

The same pattern is shown by FIG. 3. Here, however, two aligned rows ofneedles N N are in operation and the movement back and forth of thematerial guide is twice as large. The number of sources of error is thusreduced by a half. Only errors resulting from failure to touch or formintersections at F are possible.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the effect of the new device on larger variation ofthe effective lever-arm length. The original square basic pattern M canbe adjusted from a lozenge shape elongated vertically to one elongatedhorizontally. In FIG. 5 a wavy (curvilinear) line is stitched by meansof a cam plate of another shape. Two rows of needles arranged in lineone behind the other then produce circles as basic pattern M and thesecan be adjusted to form ovals elongated vertically or horizontally.Should, for example, the circles be intended to touch one another attheir circumferences, they can at all times be made to do so by means ofa small adjustment. When the device is used as a displacement device(and not as a corrector), with the pattern as shown in FIG. 4,vertically or horizontally elongated lozenges are stitched, and with thepattern as in FIG. 5 vertically or horizontally elongated ovals aremade.

Instead of mounting the displacement elements 16-20 on thematerial-guide frame 10, I may fit them to the pusher board 2 so thatthe link plate 7 can then bear upon the material guide. FIG. 6 showsanother variant of the system of FIG. 1. The adjustment of the effectivelever-arm length is here carried out not at the material guide 60 but atthe pivoted lever 61. In addition, in this case the plane in which thelever 61 moves lies approximately perpendicularly to the guide 60. Thelatter is guided in rollers 62 and connected by means of a link plate 63to a pusher slide 64 mounted on the pivoting lever 61. By means of asetting screw 65 and the handwheel 66, the pusher is displaceable on thelever 61 and the effective lever-arm length which determines the strokeof guide 60 can be set at will. By means of a second link plate 67, thepivoting lever 61 is connected articulatedly with a pusher element movedby a cam wheel as shown in FIG. 1.

Additionally, in FIG. 7, a version is shown in which the pivoting levertakes the form of a pivoting hydraulic cylinder 70 and a piston 71. Thecylinder is capable of being pivoted about a fixed axis or fulcrum 80.The piston 71 is connected articulatedly by means of a link plate 72 toa pusher element 73 moved back and forth by a cam disk. The cylinder isconnected to the material guade 76 by means of an articulated slide 74which can be displaced along a rod 75. The adjustment of the leverarmlength is carried out by hydraulic means utilizing a setting piston 78which is displaceable within a cylinder 77. A flexible hose 79 connectsthe two cylinders. Since the lever of adjustable length is connected tothe driving element (pusher 73), a shortening of the effective leverarmlength here results in an increase in the travel of the material guide.Instead of connecting the pivoting cylinder to the material guide bymeans of the elements 74, 75, it is possible to use here, too, a platesimilar to 63 in FIG. 6.

A displacement and correction device of this kind can also be located ina housing which may to advantage be filled with oil and which may alsocontain other drive elements, for example the step-switch mechanism. Thelatter will then carry out the step-by-step drive of the pattern diskfor the lateral movements of the guide and of the material-feed rollersassociated therewith. In FIG. -8, forexample, a housing of this kind isshown in simplified form. By means of rollers 82, the pattern disk 81moves the carriage 83 in its slides 84 step-bystep (i.e., stitch bystitch) back and forth. The pattern disk and the components 82, '83, 84are located above the cover of the housing so that the pattern disk canbe changed easily. By means of a pin or bolt 85, which penetrates thecover of the housing by way of a slot (not shown), the pusher 83 drivesthe displacement mechanism located within the housing under oil.

This displacement mechanism comprises a lever 86, which is pivoted at 88by means of a sliding sleeve 87. At the upper end, the lever 86 ishinged to the bolt 85, and at the lower end it is fitted into a secondsliding sleeve 89 which is articulated at 91 with a sleeve 90. Sleeve isrigid with a push rod 92 which moves the material guide (not shown) backand forth. The step-by-step movement of this push rod is indicated bythe dotted double arrow H, which also shows the travel. By means of afork 93 on the pusher 94 the pivot bearing 88 of the sleeve 87 can bedisplaced. For this purpose the pusher 94 is fitted to two guide rods 95and dispiaceable along these rods by means of a threaded spindle 96.

The threaded spindle 96 extends through the wall of the housing to theexterior through an oil seal and can be turned by means of the handwheel97 during operation. An infinitely variable adjustment of the travel His thus provided. This is indicated in FIGS. 9w-9c.

If the pusher 83 carries out a travel h, the travel H of the materialguide will be equal to h when the pivoted bearing 88 is located at thecenter point between the bearing pins 85 and 91 (FIG. 9b). If it isbrought nearer to pin 85, H will be greater than it (FIG. 9a), and if itis moved further away from pin 85, H will be less than h (FIG. 9c).

I claim:

1. In an automatic pattern-stitch quilting sewing machine having aplurality of stitching needles, a patterndetermining cam incrementallydisplaceable in the cadence of operation of said needles, a fabric-guidestructure for displacement of a fabric relatively to said needles, andcam-follower means displaceable by said cam, the combination therewithof:

a lever swingable about a fulcrum point;

first link means articulated to said lever and defining a first pivotpoint while being operatively connected with said cam-follower means fordisplacement of said lever upon movement of said cam-follower means;

second link means defining a second pivot point along said lever andoperatively connected to said structure for translating displacement ofsaid lever into movement of said structure; and continuously-variablepresettable adjustment means including a threaded member for shifting atleast one of said points relatively to another of said points to therebychange the effective arm length of said lever, said continuouslyvariable adjustment means including a threaded spindle mounted upon saidlever, a carriage shiftable along said lever and threadedly engaged bysaid spindle for displacement along said lever upon rotation of saidspindle, said carriage forming part of said second link means anddefining said second pivot point While being articulated to saidstructure. 2. In an automatic pattern-stitch quilting sewing machinehaving a plurality of stitching needles, a patterndetermining camincrementally displaceable in the cadence of operation of said needles,a fabric-guide structure for displacement of a fabric relatively to saidneedles, and cam-follower means displacea-ble by said cam, thecombination therewith of:

a lever swingable about a fulcrum point; first link means articulated tosaid lever and defining a first pivot point while being operativelyconnected with said cam-follower means for displacement of said leverupon movement of said cam-follower means;

second link means defining a second pivot point along said lever andoperatively connected to said structure for translating displacement ofsaid lever into movement of said structure; and

continuously-variable presettable adjustment means including a threadedmember for shifting at least one of said points relatively to another ofsaid points to thereby change the eifective arm length of said lever,said continuously-variable adjustment means including a threaded spindlemounted upon said structure, a carriage threadedly engaging said spindleand shiftable thereby upon rotation of said spindle, said carriageforming part of said second link means, said second link means furthercomprising a slider shiftable along said lever and pivotally connectedto said carriage at said second pivot point. 3. In an automaticpattern-stitch quilting sewing machine having a plurality of stitchingneedles, a patterndetermining cam incrementally displaceable in thecadance of operation of said needles, a fabric-guide structure fordisplacement of a fabric relatively to said needles, and cam-followermeans displaceable by said cam, the combination therewith of:

a lever swingable about a fulcrum point; first link means articulated tosaid lever and defining a first pivot point while being operativelyconnected with said cam-follower means for displacement of said leverupon movement of said cam-follower means; second link means defining asecond pivot point along said lever and operatively connected to saidstructure for translating displacement of said lever into movement ofsaid structure;

continuously-variable presettable adjustment means including a threadedmember for shifting at least one of said points relatively to another ofsaid points to thereby change the eifective arm length of said lever;and

a housing, said cam-follower means being slidably mounted in saidhousing and said continuously-variable adjustment means including athreaded spindle mounted upon said housing, and a carriage threadedlyengaging said spindle, said carriage forming part of said first linkmeans and being articulated to said lever at said first pivot point.

4. In an automatic pattern-stitch quilting sewing machine having aplurality of stitching needles, a patterndetermining cam incrementallydisplaceable in the cadence of operation of said needles, a fabric-guidestructure for displacement of a fabric relatively to said needles, andcam-follower means displaceable by said cam, the combination therewithof:

a lever swingable about a fulcrum point;

first link means articulated to said lever and defining a first pivotpoint while being operatively connected with said cam-follower means fordisplacement of said lever upon movement of said cam-follower means;

second link means defining a second pivot point along said lever andoperatively connected to said structure for translating displacement ofsaid lever into movement of said structure; and

continuously-variable presettable adjustment means including a threadedmember for shifting at least one of said points relatively to another ofsaid points to thereby change the effective arm length of said lever,said lever being formed as a hydraulic piston-andcylinder arrangement ofvariable effective length and including a hydraulic cylinder definingwith one of said link means the respective pivot point and a pistondefining with the other of said link means the corresponding pivotpoint, said continuously-variable adjustment means including a settingpiston-andcylinder arrangement for feeding hydraulic fluid to thepiston-and-cylinder arrangement of said lever, and a threaded spindlefor operating said setting arrangement.

5. In an automatic pattern-stitch quilting sewing machine having aplurality of stitching needles, a patterndetermining cam incrementallydisplaceable in the cadence of operation of said needles, a fabric-guidestructure for displacement of a fabric relatively tosaid needles, andcam-follower means displaceable by said cam, the combination therewithof:

a lever swingable about a fulcrum point;

first link means articulated to said lever and defining a first pivotpoint while being operatively connected with said cam-follower means fordisplacement of said lever upon movement of said cam-follower means;

second link means defining a second pivot point along said lever andoperatively connected to said structure for translating displacement ofsaid lever into movement of said structure; and

continuously-variable presettable adjustment means including a threadedmember for shifting at least one of said points relatively to another ofsaid points to thereby change the effective arm length of said lever,said fulcrum point being located between said pivot points and beingshiftable therebetween to increase its distance from one of said pivotpoints and vice versa, said continuously-variable adjustment meansincluding a threaded spindle, and a carriage thread edly engaging saidspindle for displacement thereby upon rotation of the spindle whiledefining said fulcrum point.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,026,830 3/1962 Bryant et a1.ll279 3,203,388 8/1965 Parlin et al. ll279 X 3,213,813 10/1965 Chambersll279 3,393,654 7/1968 Barnes ll279 2,499,473 3/1950 Elder 74-33 X2,548,807 4/1951 Morgan et al. 74-41 X 2,665,650 1/1954 Lepow 112--1023,168,064 2/1965 Fresard et al. 112102 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner G.V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner

